


Nothing Gets Forgiven

by HereComesTheMoon



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Abigail Marston (mentioned), After events of rdr1, Gen, Grief/Mourning, I feel bad for Bonnie, Jack Marston (mentioned) - Freeform, Memories, Someone give her a hug, kinda sad, obviously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28283202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HereComesTheMoon/pseuds/HereComesTheMoon
Summary: Bonnie MacFarlane discovers the news of John Marston's death
Kudos: 6





	Nothing Gets Forgiven

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy! This is my first fic and honestly I don't know what compelled me to write it but I've always been curious to see how Bonnie would react to John's death. So, here's my take on that little situation... I hope you enjoy it! Sorry if it isn't the greatest, I tried.

It was an early morning like any other at MacFarlane’s ranch, peaceful save for the sounds of a few horses trotting down the path. Bonnie MacFarlane rose with the sun and got ready for the day, knowing that there was much to be done around the ranch. She made her way into the living room where her father, Drew MacFarlane, was seated in an armchair by the window with a newspaper in his hands.

“Good morning, Pa” Bonnie greeted as she walked over to a pot of coffee sitting by the fireplace.

“Morning” replied her father, hardly glancing from the newspaper in his hands.

Bonnie sipped the hot coffee and walked over to where her father was seated. She stood in front of him and studied him for a moment, noticing the grim expression he wore on his face. “What’s the matter? You look like you’ve just been robbed.” she finally asked.

Her father only offered her a slight sad smile as he stood from his chair. He made his way over to her and put the folded newspaper into her hand, then briefly placed a hand on her shoulder before walking outside without a word.

Bonnie stood dumbfounded in the center of the room, watching the door shut behind her father. She wrinkled her nose and looked down at the folded newspaper still in her hand.

Her father wasn’t usually one to withhold information from her and she certainly had never seen him act that way before. She couldn’t tell if he was upset or…? The uncertainty made a feeling of dread begin to pool in her stomach. 

She walked over to the armchair her father had previously been sitting in and sat down, unfolding the newspaper. She scanned over the contents of the paper before landing on an article to the right of the page. It described how an ‘Agent Ross’ was recently commended for the killing of two outlaws, one being the notorious Dutch van der Linde and the other...

John Marston.

Bonnie’s eyes grew wide and she went back to the top of the article and read it again as if a different name would be in place the second time around. As if it couldn’t possibly be true. Though sure enough, nothing had changed when she read through it again except for the feeling in her stomach that was only worsening. She suddenly felt a crushing weight on her chest and became increasingly lightheaded, overwhelmed by so many thoughts and questions racing through her mind.

From some of her first conversations with John, she had learned that he used to be an outlaw and he ran with a gang for some time. That much she knew very well. But she also knew quite well that he had given up that life and even hunted down members of his former gang, though not entirely by choice, so he could settle down and leave his past behind him. So, what went wrong? She had known him well enough to know that he was a good man, so she didn’t believe he would do anything that would give the government reason to turn around and kill him. The last time she saw him he was already reunited with his family and working hard to build up their ranch again, so what happened? 

There were so many unanswered questions in her mind that it made her head spin. As she tried to sort her thoughts, her heart broke even further when she thought of poor Abigail and Jack. She had only met each of them once on separate occasions, but they were good people and she liked them very much after their meeting. She knew John cared about them tremendously from the way he talked about them and the lengths he went to to return to them, so she couldn’t help but wonder how they were dealing with this. For a moment, Bonnie greatly considered riding to Beecher’s Hope and checking on them but eventually decided against it. Honestly, she wasn’t sure she could handle being there.

That thought made her feel guilty. It was selfish of her to not go to Beecher’s Hope just because it would pain her, but seeing John’s family would hurt, and seeing the ranch would just remind her of all the times John talked about how big it could become someday. Besides, Abigail and Jack probably needed their space for now and she had a lot of work to get done around her own ranch today anyway.

With that, she took a deep breath and finally rose from her chair. The initial shock of the news had subsided, but the hollow ache in her chest was still lingering like a bad smell. The memories of when she first met John Marston replayed in her mind. 

She wasn’t sure what compelled her to save a random man half-dead on the road that day, but she was glad she did. And of course, though she would never admit it to anyone, she harbored some feelings for John from the moment they first spoke. After getting to know him further she knew she could never be with him for various reasons, but she couldn’t help the admiration she had for him. Sure, he was stupid at times, but he was also just... different. Someone you couldn’t forget.

Bonnie swallowed past the lump in her throat and tried her best to shake off the persistent feeling of emptiness that had settled inside of her. She set down the newspaper and reached for her coffee instead, taking a sip and ignoring the bad taste it left in her mouth. It still felt as though none of this were real, however she had no choice but to face it head-on.

After all, Bonnie MacFarlane had already dealt with a lot of death in her life. Hell, five of her brothers died from illness and accidents. She knew damn well at this point that you can’t stop living just because you lose someone, and she couldn’t treat it any differently here. So, after taking one last sip of her coffee, she started for the door.

She spotted her father near the stables tending to the horses and she made her way over to him. He eyed her as she approached and she flashed him a smile, though she could tell by the look he gave her that he knew she didn’t take the news well. “You know, you don’t ha-” her father began.

“It’s fine,” Bonnie lied. “I reckoned we’d best get started on the work for today. I can herd those cows over to Mr. Clark’s if I’m not needed here at the moment.”

Her father looked her over for a moment before answering, “Alright, but bring that rifle with you, will you? Predators are real bad out that way.”

“Sure, Pa.” Bonnie replied with a nod. She was grateful that her father understood her desire to get work done and after giving him another quick smile she set out towards the corral.

It was going to be hard, she would admit, to get through the day without subtle reminders of her old friend. Even now, as she walked to the cattle pens, she passed the cabin John stayed in while he recovered. The sight made her chest tighten but she disregarded the feeling and continued on her way. 

Bonnie mounted her horse when she made it to the herd of cattle, though as she prepared to set out she was reminded of even more memories she did not dare to dwell on. She was reminded of all the times she rode with John. When he helped her around the ranch to repay her for saving him, when they raced each other to see who was the better rider (to her surprise, it was John), when she helped him and Jack herd cattle back to their own ranch… 

The weight of these memories came crashing down on Bonnie all at once and she merely shrugged them off the best she could. She couldn’t afford to dwell on the past, she had a ranch to run right now. Besides, it was easy enough to use work to drown out her thoughts rather than lose herself in them. 

From then on, Bonnie MacFarlane didn’t spare much thought on her old friend. She rarely spoke about him either. John Marston was gone and nothing could change that, so Bonnie continued living her life the way she always had. Eventually, she even got married and moved away from the ranch onto the next chapter of her life. Yet there was always a small part of her mind which held the memories of her old friend, and a small part of her heart with a hole that could never be filled.


End file.
